An Aspect of Australian Culture That I Found Baffling— Immigration to Melbourne

A few years ago, I was assigned a morning shift at a hospitality TAFE in the city on a Sunday. I was told to arrive by 7:30 a.m., so I left home around 6:30. I expected to reach Box Hill Station by about 6:45, and since the train (called a “train” here, though it’s more like a subway) would take about 30 minutes, I thought I would arrive on time without any problem.

But to my surprise, perhaps because it was Sunday, the first train was not scheduled to arrive until 7:30 a.m.

(Currently, it has been moved earlier to around 6:20 a.m.)

In Korea, even on Sundays, you wouldn’t usually need to check a separate train timetable—you could just go out and expect regular service.

“What kind of country is this? How lazy and inefficient! At a time like this, when the economy is not even strong, shouldn’t people be working harder to earn even a little more? How can a country develop like this?”

I muttered to myself in frustration. But soon after, I realized that I should have checked the timetable in advance. In any case, I felt uneasy knowing I would likely be late.

At the same time, another thought crossed my mind:

“Even after living in Australia for three years, I still haven’t truly understood the way life works here.”

In the end, I only started work at around 8:15 a.m.

Later, on my way home after finishing work, I decided to use Flagstaff Station, which is actually closer to my home than the station I usually use. But when I arrived, I found the entrance completely shut with metal gates down.

Wondering what was going on, I walked closer and saw a sign:

“Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.”

On weekdays, especially Monday and Tuesday mornings, this station was always crowded with people. Yet on weekends, it was completely closed.

If this had happened in Korea, there would have been an uproar. Imagine if the first train on a Sunday only arrived at 7:30 a.m., or if a station simply shut its gates on weekends and told people to use another station—what kind of reaction would there be? The mayor would likely not have been able to withstand the public outcry.

But here in Melbourne, nothing of the sort happened. It remained unchanged.

From January 2016, weekend services were finally restored to normal. But until then, this was simply part of the Australian way of life. Even after more than three years of living here, I found myself thinking that the government had not responded quickly enough to the inconvenience faced by its citizens.

내가 당혹스럽게 느낀 호주 문화의 한 측면 - 멜번으로의 이민

몇 년 전 일요일에 시티 hospitality TAFE에서 아침 근무 배정을 받았다. 오전 7시 30분까지 나오라 하기에 6시 30분경 집에서 나와 박스힐 기차역에 도착하면 6시 45분쯤 될 터였고, 기차(이곳에서는 전철)를 타고 30분 정도만 가면 되니 충분히 도착하리라 생각했다.

그런데 아뿔싸! 일요일이라 그런지 첫차가 7시 30분 도착 예정이 아닌가?(현재는 6시 20분으로 조금 앞당겨졌다.)

한국 같으면 일요일이라 하더라도 전철 시간표를 따로 알아보지 않고 나와도 되는데,‘뭐 이런 나라가 다 있나! 참으로 게으르고 한심한 나라구나. 지금이 어느 때인데…. 이 불경기에 한 푼이라도 더 벌어도 시원치 않을 판에…. 언제 부지런히 일해서 나라가 발전하겠는담!’속으로 중얼거리다가, 시간표를 미리 알아보고 왔어야 했다는 후회가 밀려왔다. 어쨌거나 지각할 것 같다는 생각에 기분이 좋지는 않았다.

그런데 한편으로는‘호주에 온 지 3년이 지났는데도 아직까지 호주의 생활 방식을 제대로 깨닫지 못했구나!’하는 생각이 들었다. 결국 8시 15분경에야 일을 시작하게 되었다.

그리고 일을 마치고 집으로 돌아오던 중, 평소에 내리던 역보다 집에서 더 가까운 다른 기차역인 Flagstaff 역에서 타려고 갔더니 철창문이 모두 내려져 있었다. 무슨 일인가 싶어 가까이 가서 팻말을 보니‘매주 토요일과 일요일 및 공휴일은 Close됨.’이라고 적혀 있었다.

평소 월요일과 화요일 아침에 이 역을 자주 이용했는데, 그때는 엄청난 사람들이 오가던 곳이었다. 그런데 주말에는 이렇게 완전히 닫혀 있다니…….

한국 같았으면 난리가 났을 것이다. 일요일 아침 첫 열차 도착이 7시 30분이라든지, 토요일과 일요일에는 기차역에 철창을 내리고 ‘다른 역으로 가서 기차를 이용하시오.’라고 한다면 시민들은 어떤 반응을 보일까? 해당 시장은 주민들의 성화에 견디지 못했을 것이다.

그러나 이곳 멜번은 끄떡없었다. 2016년 1월부터는 주말에도 다시 정상 운행을 하도록 바뀌었지만, 그전까지는 이것이 호주의 생활 방식이었고, 내가 이곳에 온 지 3년이 넘었음에도 당시 정부가 시민들의 불편함에 제때 대응하지 못하고 있다는 생각이 들었다.